


見る/会う

by AwkwardPotatoChild



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Awkward Conversations, Awkward Romance, Cute Kids, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Ice Skating Instructor Yuuri Katsuki, Internal Conflict, Jealousy, M/M, Mild Language, Phichit Chulanont Uses Instagram, Pining, Private Investigator Victor Nikiforov, Romantic Comedy, Secret Crush, bigbangonice2018, but I'd rather be safe than sorry, he does talk about it and acknowledge it, it depends on how you see Victor's job, mild stalking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-11 08:22:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13520340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwkwardPotatoChild/pseuds/AwkwardPotatoChild
Summary: A few years after graduating, Victor Nikiforov finds himself working as a private investigator. He gets hired to follow Yuuri Katsuki around, in the hopes of uncovering some deep dark secret that he may have. It's supposed to be a straightforward case and an easy paycheck for Victor, but he finds himself running into a few issues along the way...





	見る/会う

**Author's Note:**

> Y'all, I stayed up until midnight in my time to post this because time zones are a thing. My date for this was Valentine's Day, but because of time zones, I wanted to find a time that would overlap with my artist. This also took me half an hour to post because apparently, I used too many emojis and AO3 didn't like that, so I had to delete them. XP
> 
> Anyway, enough about that because it's done. It's here! It's finally here!
> 
> Thank you to everyone at [Big Bang on Ice](https://bigbangonice.tumblr.com/) for the opportunity to do this!  
> Also, a huge thank you to the wonderful [uncoolly](http://uncoolly.tumblr.com/) for all of the amazing artwork that she did for this fic! You should definitely go and check out more of her things!
> 
> And now, enjoy and I hope you all have a happy Valentine's Day! :]
> 
>  **EDIT:** The art wasn't showing up on mobile! But it should be working now! Please enjoy how great uncoolly is!! :D

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/animeviolinist001/40262629371/in/dateposted/)

In English, one can say “I saw my friend” to mean that you met with someone.

In Japanese, the word for “to see” is “見る.” However, one can’t directly translate the same sentence for “見る” would then change the sentence’s meaning to “I watched my friend,” giving it a more stalkerish meaning.  
Instead, one would use “会う,” which is “to meet.”

* * *

 

The sun shone brightly, high up in the sky, making the air warm, the perfect day to be out in the park, enjoying the wonders of nature. Birds were chirping all around and the sound of children laughing as they played filled the air. Families were out and about, spending some much needed time together, along with couples of various ages, going on romantic strolls and enjoying the presence of each other. All of them taking advantage of the wonderful weather.

In the midst of them all, sat a man on a bench. He was reading a book, something obscure and foreign. His dog was happily chasing butterflies around, happy to be outside in the warmth. The dog ran all about, turning to give their owner a happy look, and the man laughed upon seeing his dog’s joyful expression. The man took in a deep breath and sighed contently as a breeze came by, letting it dance through his hair.

At first glance, it appeared as if the man was taking advantage of the day as well, but if one looked closer, they would’ve seen that his focused hadn’t been on his book at all. In fact, if one looked closer, they would’ve seen that his book had been opened to the same page for the last twenty minutes. Instead, one would’ve noticed that he was carefully watching and glancing at the couple sitting a few benches away from him. One would’ve noticed that his brief glances to his phone were him quickly typing down notes instead. One would’ve noticed that this was all a lie.

Victor’s expression revealed nothing as he continued to carefully watch the couple. They appeared to be a happy, young couple, but Victor knew the truth of what lay beneath their perfect façade. He knew about all of the issues they were facing together. Truth be told, he wasn’t a fan of what he did and what sort of dark secrets he uncovered, but a job was a job and he had to make a living somehow.

“Well, hello there! Looks like you could use some company!”

Victor startled slightly, feeling someone settle himself next to him on the bench. He sighed and shook his head, upon immediately recognizing the voice. Turning away from the couple, he turned and gave a faux stern look at his best friend.

“Chris, I’m working.”

Chris gave a fake gasp, placing a hand on his chest. “What? I thought you were just reading! Working too?!”

Victor rolled his eyes at this.

“What do you want, Chris?”

“Nothing,” shrugged Chris. “I just happened to be in the park and wanted to see how my friend was doing. That’s all.”

“Mm hmm.”

“I mean it, Victor! I haven’t seen you a while and I just wanted to check up on you. That’s all.”

Victor shook his head again. “Well, I’m fine, so you can stop your worrying now.”

Victor turned his attention back towards the couple. He frowned slightly upon seeing that they had gone somewhere else. He knew they couldn’t have gone far, but it was still a hassle having to locate them again. Looking around the park, he gave a small sigh of relief when he saw them walking around, hand in hand.

“You can leave now, Chris,” said Victor, without turning away from the couple. He quickly added another note.

“Mmm...not really, actually.”

Victor sighed and turned towards his best friend. “And why is that?” he asked boredly.

“Because I have a favor to ask of you.”

Victor continued to stare at Chris boredly, while the later gave him an innocent smile and batted his eyelashes at him. The two have known each other long enough to know that Victor was currently struggling to hide his smile at the ridiculous action.

“A favor?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of favor?”

“A work related one.”

Victor sighed. “Chris, you know I don’t like getting involved with people that I know or people that my friends know. It just leads to trouble and arguments and it’s always a mess.”

“I know! I know!” Chris quickly replied. “It’s not about me anyways. It’s about a friend of a friend. He needs someone with your particular set of skills, so I figured I’d help introduce you. That’s all.”

“A friend of a friend?”

“Yup!”

Victor sighed. “You couldn’t have just called or texted me about this? You know I don’t mind if you give someone my work number.”

“I know, but like I said earlier, I just wanted to make sure you were doing alright.”

“And like I said earlier, I’m fine.”

Victor turned to watch the couple again. Behind him, Chris frowned and gave him a concerned look. He silently studied his best friend’s complexion. It was hard to see beneath the sunglasses, but Chris knew that they were hiding dark circles and bloodshot eyes. He caught a peek of some wrinkles that he knew he should never speak of, unless he was ready for death. Victor didn’t talk about it much, but Chris knew that this line of work Victor had ended up in was darker than it led on to be. God only knows what kind of secrets he’s uncovered before. He wanted to say something, but didn’t comment.

“Yeah. I’m sure you are,” muttered Chris. He got up and patted Victor’s shoulder, but the man showed no reaction. “Thanks, Victor. I’m sure he’ll be in contact with you soon.”

Victor waved a hand dismissively and Chris turned to walk away, sighing as he did so. That man just never knew when to take a break and it was going to cause premature grey hairs for Chris.

* * *

 

“Did we have fun at the park today, Makkachin? Did we?”

The dog’s tail wagged happily as Victor continued to pet them and shower them with love. He hugged his dog closely to him as the two of them laid on the couch. The two of them had just returned home from their day out and now, it was time for them to rest. Well, it was time for Makkachin to rest. It was actually time for Victor to start wrapping up this case.

Picking Makkachin up, Victor set them down to the side before sitting up with a sigh. He knew he had to start organizing the files for his case, but he felt himself grow tired at just the thought alone. With a sigh, Victor eventually got himself off the couch and into his office once he reminded himself that being homeless wasn’t high on the list of things that he wanted right now.

Sitting at his desk, Victor began reviewing all of the parts of his latest case. It was supposed to only be about a wife being concerned that her husband was cheating on her, but it eventually grew into something much bigger. Apparently, the husband was cheating on the wife with their sister-in-law and their neighbor. The whole thing had obviously been a huge mess and Victor was glad that he was almost done with it.

_Just another note sheet and photo for this folder and we are...done!_

Victor smiled happily to himself as he finished up his work. As mentioned earlier, he didn’t care for his job. He hated having to be the one to dig up these secrets that people had and he hated having to tell them about it even more. Truthfully, Victor never really wanted this job to begin with. He had gone to school for literature, but after graduating, the real world seemed to believe that there was no place for people like him in it. Eventually, he found out that his eye for detail and the researching abilities that he gained were useful for being a private investigator. It wasn’t an ideal job for him, but as a recent college graduate with a mountain of debt, anything was better than nothing. Fast forward to a few years later and here Victor was. Still working the same job. Still disliking it. Still trying to figure out how to deal with his mountain of debt.

Victor sighed. Some days, he wondered what it would be like if he had taken another path, but ultimately, he knew it all wouldn’t matter because either way, it all led to the same place: Debt. For now, this was just how it is and Victor was gonna get through it, one day at a time.

Victor was brought back from his thoughts at the sound of his phone going off. Grabbing it off the desk, Victor unlocked it to see that it came from an number that he didn’t recognize and knew that it had to be coming from the person that Chris had talked about earlier. Victor sighed, not happy about having to start another case so soon, but he knew he had no choice. He quickly responded to the message, setting up a time and place for them to fully discuss what was going on.

_Hopefully, this’ll be an easier case._

* * *

 

“And you are?”

“Yuri. Yuri Plisetsky.”

Victor nodded as he recorded everything in his notepad. He glanced upwards to take in the sight of the young man sitting in front of him with a scowl on his face. He was clearly unhappy about whatever this was, but like always, Victor didn’t care. He just had to do his job. He only had to get through this one and onto the next one. That’s all there was to it.

Around them, people milled and conversed, but no one gave them a second glance as they sat at the busy café, too focused on other things. For all they knew, Yuri and Victor were merely exchanging pleasantries. It certainly helped that they were given some privacy by being seated in a back corner though.

“And what would you like for me to do for you?”

Yuri scoffed as if he expected Victor to already know what he wanted. Victor didn’t care for his attitude, but he remained professional.

“There’s this guy at my work and I want you to investigate him for me.”

Victor nodded and wrote that down. “Tell me more please.”

“Yeah. I work at the Ice Castle Skating Rink as a part-time instructor there. Gotta get money for school and shit. It’s been fine with just me, but they recently hired this new guy, Yuuri.”

“Yuuri...?”

Victor let the name remained incomplete, giving Yuri the chance to give him more information. Yuri scoffed again and rolled his eyes. “Yuuri Katsuki.”

Victor wrote the name down, nodding once again. He finally looked up Yuri again.

“So what’s the issue? Why do you want me to investigate him?”

Yuri glanced around the room, as if the server was planning on stealing his identity, before leaning in closer, ready to reveal whatever secret he had. Victor didn’t say anything and his expression revealed nothing either, but he couldn’t help but find the action to be slightly funny.

“This guy,” whispered Yuri, “this Yuri guy...he’s...he’s nice.”

Victor nearly snorted at this, but kept his expression composed. He covered his near slip-up by covering his face with his hand, making it appear as if he were musing upon what Yuri just said. He nodded and furrowed his brow, pretending to be deep in thought. Yuri didn’t seem to notice how he was struggling to remain composed. He’d gotten his fair share of odd reasons and requests before, but he certainly hasn’t been asked to investigate someone for being nice.

“Mm hmm,” he hummed. Victor looked down and began doodling to make it appear as if he was taking notes. He glanced up and Yuri was still dead serious about this.

“Yeah,” continued Yuri. “He’s nice, too nice. No one can be that fucking nice all the time.” He slams a fist down onto the table, rattling the glasses and plates. “There’s gotta be something going on with that guy and I want to know what it is!”

Victor doesn’t react to the outburst, but he writes down what’s being said, along with a few extra things as well. The rest of their conversation continued the way all of Victor’s cases went, with discussion of payment, contact, etc. From the looks of it, this case wouldn’t be a hard one for Victor. Just had to follow this Yuuri guy around and find any dirt on him for this kid. It’s likely that he’d end up with nothing anyway, because that’s how most cases went, but Victor took his work seriously and he wasn’t about to half-ass this.

* * *

 

**Day 01:**

With the power of technology and the Internet, finding someone wasn’t hard to do in this day and age, and with the help of a phone book, Victor had the basics of who Yuuri Katsuki was and where he lived by the time his coffee was done brewing that morning.

While Yuuri’s Facebook was blocked from him and it would be suspicious for someone to send someone they didn’t know a friend request, his Instagram luckily wasn’t, so while eating breakfast, Victor went through Yuuri’s Instagram like a morning newspaper. Next to him was his usual notebook and a pen, ready to write down whatever he needed. The first picture he came across wasn’t one of Yuuri, but of an ice skating rink, devoid of people. The ice was pristine and sparkling. The setting sun’s light painted the room lovely shades of orange, red, and purple, making it feel like a dream.

-

21 likes

katsuki.yuuri: Another day on the ice done! So happy to be back!

-

Victor took note of the fact that the picture was posted about a fortnight ago, around the time that Yuri said Yuuri had been hired. His enthusiasm for skating was clear, but Victor made sure to remind himself to look into what Yuuri did before getting hired at the Ice Castle. Maybe that could lead him to the secrets that Yuri wanted.

Moving on, the next picture Victor found was of a dog, sleeping happily on Yuuri’s chest. The dog was a poodle like his own and Victor couldn’t help, but coo at how cute the dog looked, especially since it’s little tongue was peeking out. He nearly gave the picture a like, until he realized what he was supposed to be doing.

-

63 likes

katsuki.yuuri: Lazy day with Vicchan **#sleepypuppy**  
**#dogsofinstagram #poodlesofinstagram**

View all 18 comments

phichit+chu Awww! Too cute!!  
minako-okukawa thought you said you were practicing, mister  
sukeota3sisters 3 thumbs up from us!  
katsuki.yuuri @minako-okukawa oops...

-

Victor chuckled as he read through the rest of the comments on the picture. Yuuri didn’t have a ridiculous number of followers on Instagram, but this picture of his dog had garnered a fair amount of attention due to how incredibly adorable it was.

The rest of Yuuri’s Instagram was largely the same. He didn’t post all that much, but when he did, it was mainly pictures of his dog, food, or some pretty scenery, in that order. There wasn’t really much that showed who he was and the tiny profile pictures on his Instagram and Facebook weren’t really much to go off of either since they were both pictures of his dog. With a sigh, Victor checked to see if he was tagged in more pictures instead. Immediately, Victor was assaulted with a lifetime's worth of pictures of Yuuri Katsuki.

Jackpot.

The first picture that Victor came across was a picture of Yuuri pressed cheek to cheek with someone else that Victor assumed to be Phichit since this was his Instagram account. Both of them were smiling brightly. Phichit was hugging Yuuri tightly to him, while Yuuri was holding a beer. The two were obviously drunk from how flushed their cheeks were. Victor gave a small smile as he recalled some similar memories with Chris during their college days.

-

259 likes

phichit+chu: Just give me one [more] bad night  
Gonna miss this guy so much **#bffs #bffs4ever #missualready #whydoallthegoodonesleave #jkjk #ontobetterandbrighter #yuurisbetterandbrighternotmine**

View all 52 comments

minken18 im gonna miss u so much @katsuki.yuuri! TT-TT  
sukeota3sisters @katsuki.yuuri you better come back and visit!  
minako-okukawa Good luck, @katsuki.yuuri!  
katsuki.yuuri @phichit+chu @minken18 Aww! I’m gonna miss you too!  
katsuki.yuuri @phichit+chu @minken18 @sukeota3sisters @minako-okukawa And don’t worry. I’ll be sure to visit and call. :)

-

Reading through all of the comments, Victor found that Yuuri was more popular than he originally thought he was. His lack of followers on Instagram probably came the fact that he didn’t advertise the fact that he even had an account.

Scrolling down some more, Victor came across a picture of Yuuri in a library. He had fallen asleep with his glasses still on and was now resting his head on the textbook he had left opened up. Around him were more books and various coffee cups as well. To the side, Phichit was looking at the camera, holding a finger to his lips, telling everyone to keep quiet and let Yuuri get his rest.

-

302 likes

phichit+chu: Shhh… **#sleepyyuurialert #donotdisturb #studentlife #finalexamseason #almosttheretho #10moredaystilgraduation #socloseyetsofar**

View all 42 comments

+guanghongji+ #same, @katsuki.yuuri  
minako-okukawa I see you two are working hard. Be sure to get some actual rest though. @phichit+chu @katsuki.yuuri  
phichit+chu @minako-okukawa Will do!

-

Victor smiled, recalling his restless nights during university. They weren’t fun back then, but they were mildly amusing now since staying up late became a part of Victor’s job. He probably should’ve chosen a different career path, but oh well.

Grabbing his pen, Victor quickly wrote down that Yuuri was a recent graduate, which meant he was just a few years younger than himself. He probably moved here for work and to start his life in the real world. Victor had to mentally applaud his courage since he had made the same decision himself and knew how difficult it was to start all over.

The next picture Victor found was one of Yuuri staring intently at a Monopoly board. His brow was furrowed as he carefully contemplated his next move. The picture was made even more comical with the addition of the top of Phichit’s head peeking up from the bottom, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

-

287 likes

phichit+chu: Taking a break from studying **#gamenight #boardgamesnotboredgames #thingsaregettingintense #allsfairinloveandmonopoly #jkjk #cardgamesarecooltoo #cahisupnext #getreadyforit**

View all 48 comments

Jjleroy!18 You sunk my battleship! ;)  
phichit+chu @Jjleroy!18 and now we’re sending you to the Shadow Realm! ;P  
Jjleroy!18 @phichit+chu D:  
sala-crispino me and mickey are coming to join you for #cah!!  
phichit+chu @sala-crispino woo!!

-

Victor smiled upon seeing the fun that Yuuri and his friends were having. It was clear that they were all as close as can be. Scrolling through some more photos, Victor found others of Yuuri and his friends having fun together. Phichit was clearly the more social of the two, leading to Victor’s note on how shy Yuuri was.

_And I’m really supposed to find something incriminating about this guy?_

Going through some more, Victor came across something different. Instead of a photo, he found a video of Yuuri getting ready to skate. Clicking the sound and turning up the volume, he heard Phichit whispering to the camera.

“Okay, so Yuuri totally doesn’t know that we’re here, so keep quiet and just watch.”

The camera focused on Yuuri and he began to lazily move about the ice, slowly getting into the rhythm of skating. He then slowly began picking up speed, moving quicker, and before Victor knew it, Yuuri was skating, spinning, and leaping about like a real professional figure skater. He was moving along to a song that only he could hear, and yet, Victor felt as if he hear it as well. His movements were elegant and graceful, and Victor found himself entranced. Yuuri had just landed a spin when the video cut off and Victor found himself frowning before replaying the video, momentarily forgetting what he was supposed to be doing.

-

▶ 721 views

phichit+chu: **#tbt** to when I came by to say hi to @katsuki.yuuri at work and got some incredible footage of him being too amazing for this world instead **#yuurionice #toocoolforthis #mybestfriendiscoolerthanyours #jk #butsrsly #yuuriistoocool #iceicebaby**

View all 124 comments

minken18 ahhhhh!!! :D @katsuki.yuuri! ur too awesome!! ⛸️  
sukeota3sisters #toolit  
minako-okukawa @katsuki.yuuri Glad to see you using everything that I’ve taught you! So proud of how far you’ve come! :D  
katsuki.yuuri @phichit+chu WHAT?! Phichit! When did you take this?!?!?!  
JJleroy!18 #itsyuuristyle  
sala-crispino #yuurionice whoo! go yuuri!!  
phichit+chu @katsuki.yuuri ;)  
katsuki.yuuri @phichit+chu XC

-

Having remembered to actually read through the comments, Victor made some quick notes about Yuuri and his skating before watching the video once again, still mesmerized by his movements. Having learned how to skate a bit when he was younger, Victor could see how skilled Yuuri was and even if he couldn’t, Yuuri’s movements transcended that. He suddenly found himself more interested in this case than he thought he would be. Victor was about to go through some more pictures when he suddenly felt Makkachin headbutt his leg, telling him that they had waited long enough for their walk.

“Oh! Sorry, Makkachin! We’ll get going now!”

Victor reached over and pet the dog before getting up. As he got everything he needed, Victor’s thoughts kept going back to Yuuri’s skating. This was certainly going to be more interesting than he thought it would be.

* * *

 

**Day 02:**

Victor was actually going to began investigating now. He usually didn’t have particularly strong feelings for this part of the job. It was mainly a waiting game and it meant that he got paid, so he never really cared to think about it too much. However, he couldn’t help but be somewhat excited today.

He was starting mildly simple for now, just observing Yuuri while he was at work and getting a feel for what Yuri was saying. It was going to be a bit difficult finding a way to watch Yuuri without having to actually interact with him or be inside Ice Castle, but from Yuuri’s picture, Victor knew that there had to be windows that he could watch from. Hopefully, there would be bushes along the outside to keep him from looking too much like a stalker, even though that’s what he was essentially hired to be.

Luckily, after a quick search, Victor found out that the Ice Castle Skating Rink wasn’t too far from his place, which meant he didn’t have to go running about the city all day. He did wonder how he never knew about this place to begin with though. From their website, Victor found the teaching schedule, which would then give him a good idea of what Yuuri’s overall schedule at the Ice Castle. While Yuri had mentioned that he was a part-time instructor to help pay for school, Yuuri was a full-time instructor with how many classes he was teaching a week. The majority of them were beginner classes since they were divided by age groups, but he also taught a few of the intermediate and advanced classes as well. Victor couldn’t help, but be a bit impressed by how much Yuuri was doing. He assumed that along with the classes, Yuuri was also helping keep the Ice Castle running as well.

And Victor assumed right when he decided to show up before the crack of dawn that Monday. The Ice Castle’s website said they were open from 5am to 11pm everyday, which made sense because some people prefered coming to practice before their day started and some prefered after, but Victor also wasn’t exactly expecting to see Yuuri so early in the morning since his first class of the week wasn’t until 5pm. With a yawn, Victor sat in his rental car across the street and watched as Yuuri made his way towards the front doors and unlocked them before entering. Once Yuuri was inside, Victor got out of his car and quickly made his way over to the building, making sure no one saw him.

To his relief, there was a decent amount of foliage surrounding the Ice Castle, which meant he’d be able to hide himself from others. He hasn’t gotten caught before and he would like to keep that record. He knew having to explain that he was hired to essentially stalk someone wouldn’t be the easiest conversation to have and he wanted to avoid having to do that.

Getting his notebook and camera ready, Victor peered through the window. Inside, he saw the ice skating rink, the exact one that Yuuri had posted a picture of before. Toward the front, where Yuuri had entered, Victor could see the front area due to a series of large windows that looked out onto the ice, allowing people to see each other from both sides. Moving over, Victor was better able to see Yuuri setting his things down behind the front counter and preparing for the day.

Victor watched as Yuuri suddenly waved to someone. An older man who was balding and seemed to be perpetually angry joined Yuuri behind the front counter. Getting his binoculars, Victor could see the two of them begin speaking and he was thankful that he had learned how to read lips. It was difficult to do and to be honest, he wasn’t perfect at it, but getting the main parts of the conversation was all that he really needed anyway. Pulling out a pen, Victor began recording their conversation.

_Good morning...Yakov..._

_...You know you don’t...here early…?_

Yuuri shifted and chuckled shyly. He looked away to the ice momentarily before answering.

_...Don’t mind...Like skating...Like...job…_

Yakov sighed and shook his head, but it seemed he couldn’t find it in him to argue with Yuuri. He patted Yuuri’s shoulder.

_Alright...don’t work too hard...break…_

Yuuri nodded and smiled. Yakov walked off to another area, probably to his office or something, leaving Yuuri to organize and clean up some things behind the counter. Judging from their interaction, he was probably Yuuri’s boss. Victor made a note of that, along with Yuuri’s work habits.

Victor continued to watch as Yuuri went about his early morning at the Ice Castle. Not too much happened since it was such an early hour of the morning, so at around 7 or so, Yuuri decided to slip on his ice skates and skate around a bit. He wasn’t doing all of the tricks and spins that Victor had seen him do in the video. Instead, he was simply gliding about, letting his skates move him wherever. Despite the simplicity, Victor still found himself mesmerized by his movements.

“Hey Yuuri!”

Both Victor and Yuuri startled at the new voice. Immediately, Victor sunk back down, carefully hiding himself within the bushes again. He mentally scolded himself for getting so distracted. He waited a moment before peeking again since the voice had sounded dangerously close to where he was hiding. To his relief, it came from someone a little bit further away, but who was still close enough for him to potentially hear parts of a conversation if one were to occur. It was hard to see from where he was, but it appeared as if the person was a young woman with short, wavy auburn hair. She was leaning over the side and waving excitedly at Yuuri. Victor then saw Yuuri skating over to where the young woman was. He was smiling as well.

“Hey Mila,” came Yuuri’s slightly muffled voice. “How are you?”

“Pretty good. Pretty good,” replied Mila. “What about you? You show up early again?”

Yuuri looked away sheepishly. “Not _that_ early...”

“I’m only teasing, Yuuri,” said Mila. “Besides, I’m happy to see that someone else is excited about being here. I know it’s just a job for most of us, but I like it here and it makes me happy to know that someone else likes it here too.”

“Thanks, Mila.”

“Yeah. Yeah,” dismissed Mila. “Just be sure to take it easy. Okay? Don’t work yourself too hard and make sure you actually get some sleep. Beauty rest is important, ya know.”

Mila poked at Yuuri’s cheek as she said that last bit, making Yuuri giggle. He nodded before watching as Mila left and headed towards the front desk. Once she was gone, Yuuri went back to his languid gliding.

Nothing else happened for the rest of the morning. No one else showed up and Victor spent the morning watching Yuuri skate about and then switch out with Mila up at the front. It was uneventful, but he did get some good information from it. Probably not what Yuri was looking for, but he got something at least.

Lunch time soon came around and Victor was thankful for the chance to go and stretch his legs. It wasn’t too exciting either though. Yuuri just went to a nearby café and grabbed himself a sandwich and some tea before heading back to the Ice Castle. Victor did learn that Yuuri was a regular there from how he interacted with the employees there.

After that, Yuuri went on break and some other employees took over for a few hours. Victor wasn’t too concerned about them since they didn’t directly interact with Yuuri, but he did take note of who they were, at least.

Yuuri’s first class of the week soon came around and Victor found himself smiling as he saw a group of small children come rushing into the ice skating rink.

“Please don’t run, everyone! I don’t want any of you getting hurt before you even got the chance to skate today!”

“Yes, Mr. Yuuri!”

The children all immediately slowed down and walked excitedly around the ice skating rink, towards where some seats were. Coming up from behind was Yuuri, who was smiling happily. Once all of the children were seated, Yuuri began addressing all of them.

“Alright. Looks like everyone is here today, so that’s good. I’m glad you all were able to come, so welcome to another week of ice skating!”

“Yay!”

Yuuri laughed at their enthusiasm and waited for them to quiet down before continuing.

“Quick review first. Last week, we went over some safety and then we were all able to get on the ice. Today, we’ll continue with that and hopefully, some of you will be able to start moving around on your own. It’ll take time, so don’t worry if you don’t get it just yet. Okay? Now, let’s double check your laces to make sure they’re all good to go.”

Yuuri sat down on one of the benches and the children immediately lined up in front of him. All of them were shaking with excitement. One by one, Yuuri checked all of their laces to make sure they were all nice and tight. The endearing sight made Victor’s heart warm and he found himself smiling non-stop.

Once done with that, Victor finally noticed that Mila had brought out a number of push-penguins and push-polar bears for the children. She had them all lined up by the rink entrance, ready for the children to use.

“Alright, everyone,” said Yuuri as he stood up. “Miss Mila is gonna help you all get a penguin or a polar bear, and then, we’ll do a bit of balance and skating. Sound good?”

The children all turned around and began trying to head towards the ice before Yuuri could say much more. Mila quickly stopped them from going to far and gently guided them onto the ice, making sure none of them got hurt. Yuuri stayed behind to make sure all of them were alright, but Victor noticed how one little girl stayed behind all of them. While the others rushed forward, the little girl headed towards Yuuri instead and gently tugged on the leg of his pants, catching his attention. He immediately crouched down to her level once he noticed her.

“Mr. Yuuri?” asked the girl shyly.

“Hm? What is it, Ada?”

“Can I get a penguin instead of a polar bear?”

Yuuri smiled. “Of course, you can.”

Ada gasped excitedly before throwing her tiny arms around Yuuri. “Thank you, Mr. Yuuri!”

“Of course. Of course,” laughed Yuuri, who returned her hug. “But if you want your penguin, you’ll need to join the others.”

Ada pulled away and nodded quickly. She then rushed off to join her friends on the ice. Mila had overheard the conversation and made sure to get the little girl a penguin, who was now beaming with joy.

Once all the children were situated, Yuuri skated towards where they were with Mila and began the actual lesson. For the next hour, Victor watched as Yuuri taught the children how to skate. He obviously cared for each of them a great deal and Victor felt himself warmed as he watched Yuuri go from child to child, making sure that they were all okay and understood what to do. If a child ever fell or slipped Yuuri was immediately by their side, making sure that they were alright and smiling by the end of it. Not only that, when the class was all finished, after getting their skates off, Victor watched as each of the children came by to say goodbye to Yuuri and thank him as well. The sight gave Victor some new hope he never knew he needed.

_There can’t be anything suspicious about this guy._

After the children left, Victor watched as Yuuri and Mila began putting up all of the things that had been left out. While Yuuri was carefully moving things in, Mila quickly skated about, happy to not be going so slowly anymore.

“Whoo!” exclaimed Mila. “That’s another day done!”

Yuuri laughed and shook his head as he continued to bring the push-penguins and push-polar bears back towards the supply closet. Mila continued to skate circles around him.

“Yeah. I’m glad to see that the kids are really enjoying it so far.”

Mila nodded in agreement. She skated around a bit more before helping Yuuri with the rest of the supplies. Once done, the two headed towards the rink entrance.

“So, you up to anything exciting today, Yuuri?” asked Mila. “Or are you staying late again?”

Yuuri shook his head. “Nah. I think I’ll head home for today. I might be back later after I feed my dog though.”

“Boo! That’s boring.” Mila jokingly frowned before giving Yuuri a wink. Yuuri only shrugged in response. “Well,” continued Mila, “if you’re ever looking for something to do or someone to hang out with, know that Georgi and I are always down for whatever.”

“Thanks, Mila,” nodded Yuuri. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Patting Yuuri on the back, Mila rushed off, while Yuuri lingered behind about, not in too much of a rush. She was gone before he could even get his skates off, but Yuuri had a reason for moving so slowly. Turns out, he was waiting for the next employee to come by and start his shift before leaving, even though Victor was fairly certain Yakov was still around. Or maybe he was mistaken and he had left when that lady Lilia came by. Either way, Victor knew that there was still someone else around when Yuuri decided to leave. There was no reason for him to stick around, but he still did anyway.

With that, Victor watched as Yuuri got into his own car and drove off. Once everything seemed to be clear, Victor went towards his own car and looked over all of the notes he had so far. Yuuri Katsuki wasn’t the most interesting man in the world, but there was something about him that had captured Victor’s attention. Like Yuri had said, Yuuri was incredibly nice and kind, and Victor had to agree from what he knew of him so far. He didn’t want to believe that Yuuri harbored some sort of deep, dark secret, but that’s why he was hired. Heading home, Victor found himself unable to stop thinking about Yuuri Katsuki.

_He’s...surprisingly more interesting than I thought he would be._

* * *

 

**Day 03:**

Victor decided it would be best to continue observing Yuuri while he was at work. One day would definitely not be enough to tell him everything about Yuuri. Not only that, Victor knew that Yuuri and Yuri taught a class together and since Yuri was his client, it was essential that Victor got the chance to see how the two of them interacted to see where Yuri was coming from.

Seeing as how Yuuri’s morning and early afternoon seemed to be largely the same daily routine, Victor decided to show up later on Tuesday. He was worried that, knowing his luck, some astronomical event would probably occur during his absence, but logically, Victor knew that was unlikely.

Luckily, logic won this round and when Victor showed up that afternoon, nothing too out of the ordinary seemed to be happening. He had arrived when Yuuri had gotten back from his break and Mila was just about to leave, switching out with Yuri for the intermediate classes that day.

Unlike the beginner children’s class, there was no need for Yuuri and Yuri to check on all of the students. Not only that, because it was a higher level course, the number of students had decreased as well. Instead of waiting along the side, Yuuri and Yuri were already on the ice, warming up, as they waited for the students to do the same. As they went around, Victor could see that Yuuri was trying to start a brief conversation with the younger of the two. However, it seemed like Yuri was not interested in this notion at all.

_How are you...Yuri?_

Yuri shrugged and turned away.

_Whatever…_

Yuuri frowned at the reaction, concern in his eyes.

_...everything...alright...school?_

Yuri’s face turned into a scowl, the same one that he had given Victor when they first met.

_...fine…_

Yuri quickly skated away, leaving Yuuri to stare after him in concern.

_If you...need...let me know…_

Yuri was turned away as Yuuri said that last bit, but Victor knew he was probably rolling his eyes and scoffing at the comment. Yuuri continued to look at him with concern before continuing to warm up and then moved on to talk to some of the students.

Victor frowned slightly at the interaction. From what he knew, he agreed with Yuri’s notion that Yuuri was nice, but even if he suspected that something was up with Yuuri, that didn’t warrant a reaction like that to his kindness. Victor sighed. Maybe he needed to expand his focus.

“Hey. Yuuri!”

Lost in thought once again, Victor failed to notice that someone else had entered the ice skating rink. The new person was a young man with short black hair styled in an undercut. Victor couldn’t see all of his face, but he could see that he was probably around Yuri’s age.

Turning back to the two Yuris, Victor realized that he didn’t know which one the stranger had been referring to and neither Yuri seemed to know either. At the sound of their name, both of them skated to the side to join the new person.

“Beka!” exclaimed Yuri, rushing over to the side. Victor raised an eyebrow when he saw Yuri “accidentally” cut off Yuuri in his path. Yuuri didn’t seem to notice though and continued on as if nothing happened.

“Hey Otabek. What’s up?” asked Yuuri as he finally joined the other two.

Yuri scoffed. “Beka wasn’t calling for you. He was calling for me.”

“Actually, I was calling for Yuuri,” said Otabek bluntly. He gestured to Yuuri to ensure that they all knew who he was referring to. Yuri immediately frowned and scowled at this. “I just needed to tell you that Yakov said you can head home after this class. I’ll clean up after you.”

“Oh. Are you sure?” asked Yuuri. “I don’t mind staying to help out, if you need it.”

“It’s fine!” interrupted Yuri. “Yakov said to go home, so go home.”

“Umm…”

“Yeah. Don’t worry about it,” said Otabek. “I’ll be fine.”

“Well...okay then. Thanks, Otabek.”

Otabek nodded to Yuuri, who then skated off to chat with some of the students. Otabek remained standing there and Yuri was still scowling.

“You okay, Yuri?” asked Otabek.

“Yeah,” mumbled Yuri. “I’m fine. Why?”

“Just checking,” shrugged Otabek. He patted Yuri’s shoulder. “You know you can talk to me, right? You and I are friends, ya know.”

Yuri sighed. “Yeah. I know. It’s fine though.”

“Well, know that whatever is bothering you will pass, alright? It’s gonna be okay.”

Yuri nodded at this and Otabek headed back towards the front. As he walked off, Victor noticed how Yuri continued to stare at him as he left. He sighed and shook his head before skating off. Victor found himself chuckling and shaking his head. Of course this whole thing wasn’t about Yuuri being too nice. It’s about Yuri being worried about Yuuri taking Otabek from him.

_Poor kid. Hopefully, he’ll figure it out soon._

Victor made a note to himself to talk to Yuri about this. He usually didn’t want to make things too personal when it came to cases, but for this one, he was willing to make an exception. It seemed like Yuri could use the extra bit of help.

At this point, Victor realized that he could technically wrap up his investigating since he found out that the point of this wasn’t to uncover some dark secret that Yuuri was hiding, but to help Yuri figure out that he wasn’t losing his friend and crush anytime soon. He could go to Yuri now and tell him that Yuuri wasn’t some sort of serial killer and that things would be fine. He could go to Yuri and tell him that Yuuri wasn’t planning on stealing Otabek from him or anything. However, Victor decided to remain hidden in the bushes, watching as Yuuri and Yuri taught the intermediate students. He told himself that he would stop tomorrow, but he somehow knew that wouldn’t be true. Victor was still going to come back to the Ice Castle tomorrow and he was still going to investigate Yuuri. He was telling himself that he only wanted to do a thorough job for Yuri, but he also knew he was only lying to himself about that.

_Why am I so fixated with him?_

* * *

 

**Day 04:**

The next day, Victor was back at the Ice Castle, hiding in the bushes once again. It was uncomfortable and cramped, and he knew he could leave now, technically, and yet, here he was once again.

Unlike Yuuri’s beginner and intermediate classes, the advanced class was at a later time, probably because more of the students were older in this group than compared to the other two and the later time fit their schedules better. It was also a much smaller class, which meant Yuuri had to do less work. The advanced class was more about refining and perfecting previous skills, while the beginner and intermediate classes were for those who wanted to learn.

Victor spent his time that day watching the students practice their routines and whatnot, while Yuuri went around helping them and offering his advice whenever he could. It wasn’t the most exciting thing and this certainly wasn’t the most exciting case that Victor has taken up, but he once again found himself fixated on Yuuri. There was something...nice, pleasant, and reassuring seeing Yuuri helping out everyone else. No matter how tired he seemed and how frustrated anyone got, Yuuri remained calm and cheerful. He was always there to make sure everyone was alright and Victor could see how his love for his job and students was returned tenfold. Teaching of any sort took a lot of patience and Yuuri had more than enough to go around.

Class was wrapping up and the students were beginning to leave. Yuuri was giving some last minute tips to one of them, when the employee that was currently working the front desk called out to him.

“Hey Yuuri! Are you staying late or are you heading home now?”

“I can stay late. I know you said you had your friend’s birthday party to attend, so go ahead. I’ll wrap things up around here.”

“Thank you, Yuuri! I owe you one!”

Yuuri waved to the other employee before turning back to the student. They spoke for a few more minutes before the student left as well, leaving Yuuri all by himself. With no one else around, Victor watched as Yuuri began to languid skate around again, letting himself glide along the ice with no set course. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Yuuri then pulled his phone and earbuds from out of his pockets.

Victor watched as Yuuri put his earbuds in and began tapping away at his phone. His face lit up once he found what he was looking for. He then put his phone back into his pocket. Yuuri then skated to the center of the rink and took another deep breath. Victor watched transfixed, knowing exactly what was going to happen next.

Letting the music move him, Yuuri began to skate a routine that he clearly knew well, one that he had been working on for awhile now. It was different from the one that Victor had seen in the video, but it carried just as much passion and love that the other one had as well, if not more. It had been years since Victor skated and if asked, he probably couldn’t remember half of things that he learned, but seeing Yuuri skate, seeing his heart and soul barred for him like this, the memories came rushing back immediately.

_Quad Toe-Double Toe combination...then, a Quad Salchow...a Triple Loop, Triple Axel, and a Triple Flip...Wow! Amazing!_

Victor continued to watch, transfixed and breathless, as Yuuri continued skating his routine. Like the video, Victor couldn’t actually hear the song that Yuuri was hearing, but he felt it move through him, just as much as it moved through Yuuri. All of his movements felt like second nature to him, as if each move had been engrained into his heart and soul, had been waiting for this moment to be revealed to the world.

Watching the video of Yuuri skating and seeing him do so in person was completely something else. There was a light and a warmth that radiated from Yuuri that the camera could not capture. There was a humanity and life that was missing from the camera. In person, even though they were separated by a glass, even though Victor couldn’t hear what Yuuri was hearing, he felt more connected to what Yuuri was doing than he had to any other person before. In Yuuri, Victor felt so many different emotions coursing through this veins and every inch of his being. He felt his heart nearly stop, filled with so much passion and energy. It was something that must be experienced in person and Victor thanked whoever was out there that he got the chance to see this. Victor was not a religious man, but in this moment, he felt as if he had truly found an ethereal being. He felt as if he had truly been blessed.

Earlier, Victor had wondered what his life would be like if he had taken a different path, if he had followed his passion and did something for love rather than money. Seeing Yuuri skate with such love and emotion made Victor realize that this is what happens. This is what happens when you fill your life with your joy and love. It was terrifying because there’s a whole world out there that’s essentially going against everything that you’re doing, but in Yuuri, Victor could see that all of that didn’t matter. What mattered was that Yuuri was happy. What mattered was that Yuuri was free. And Victor wanted that so badly.

_Oh my god! And there’s still more!_

_A Triple Axel-Single Loop-Triple Salchow combination! A Triple Lutz-Triple Toe combination! Look at that step sequence too! A Quad Toe Loop?!_

Yuuri’s routine soon came to an end and he stood still on the ice, looking out towards an imaginary audience. Victor stood up from where he was hiding and nearly began applauding and crying with admiration. He suddenly remembered what he was supposed to be doing and where he was, and stopped himself before he accidentally revealed himself. However, a part of him wish that he could. A part of him wished to run inside and tell Yuuri that what he just did was truly extraordinary. A part of him wished he could run inside and pour everything that he was feeling right now to Yuuri.

But he couldn’t. He would never be able to.

* * *

 

Victor went home that night, lost in a dazed, dreamlike state, and to be honest, it took him a moment to even realize he was at home. After Yuuri’s performance, Victor remembered watching as Yuuri sighed and left the rink to go clean up. He remembered getting into his rental car and waiting until he saw Yuuri drive off as well. He remembered finally getting home and getting tackled by an excited Makkachin, who was then confused when their owner wandered off instead. He vaguely remembered feeding Makkachin before nearly forgetting to feed himself. It wasn’t until now, lying bed, that Victor finally realized that he was back at home. He was still caught up in the mystery that was Yuuri Katsuki. Lost and frustrated, Victor groaned before reaching for his phone and calling up the one person he knew could help him.

“Hello?”

“Hey Chris. Sorry to bother you so late.”

“Nah. It’s no problem,” reassured Chris. “I’m always happy to help you out with whatever you need, Victor.”

“Who said I needed help with anything?”

Chris snorted on the other line. “Well, you called me, so that was a pretty good indicator.”

“And what does me calling you have to do with anything?”

“Victor, you never call me unless something is wrong. Actually, you never really contact me anymore at all, Mr. Busybody.”

Victor looked away sheepishly, even though he knew Chris couldn’t see it.

“Sorry, Chris. I don’t mean to-”

“It’s fine,” interrupted Chris. “I know you’ve got your work and all of that, and it’s fine. I understand. Just send me a text every once in awhile to let me know you’re not dead in a ditch somewhere. I’d like to know how my best friend is doing sometimes, ya know.”

“Thanks, Chris, and sorry for being a shitty best friend.”

“It’s okay. You’re just lucky I think you’re cute.”

The two of them laughed at this.

“But really though, what’s up? What’s on your mind?” asked Chris.

“It’s...this case,” sighed Victor.

“The one that I gave that was from a friend of a friend?”

“Yeah. That one.”

“Sorry, Victor. Is it too hard of a case? Too much to deal with? There’s no shame in passing it onto someone else, ya know?”

“No,” said Victor, shaking his head. “That’s not it. It’s actually a really easy case, really simple and straightforward.”

“Then, what’s the problem?”

“The problem is that I think I might be more invested in this than I thought I would be.”

“Isn’t that normally a good thing though?”

“Normally, yes,” answered Victor. “But in this case, I’m gonna have to say no. There’s this guy that I’m investigating right now. I’m supposed to try and find out if he has any deep, dark secrets, but so far there’s nothing. He’s just a really nice and cute guy.”

“But that’s not good?” asked Chris.

“Yes. I mean, no. I mean, yes? I don’t know. But the point is that so far there seems to be nothing wrong with the guy. I’ve only been following him around for three days, but I doubt that he’s secretly a drug lord or anything like that.”

“So is that a good thing or does your client _really_ want you to find something wrong with him?”

“To be honest, this case has more to do with my client figuring out things about himself than it does about the guy that I’m investigating. At this point, I’ve probably got more than enough to tell my client that everything is fine because he’s really just worried that this other guy is only pretending to be nice because he wants to steal my client’s friend/crush.”

“Ooo. Drama. I like it and I’m intrigued. Continue.”

“But yeah, at this point, with any other case, I’d probably be heading back to the client and letting them know that everything is fine. It all checks out. Give me my money and we’ll move on with our lives. But...I don’t want to do that with this case.”

“Oh?”

“I want to keep going with this case. I want to keep investigating this guy and...I don’t know why. I keep telling myself it’s because I want to do a thorough job for my client, but I also know that’s a bullshit lie I keep telling myself. I just...I don’t know. I don’t know what’s so different about this case, Chris.”

“Hmm…” mused Chris. “I think…”

“Yes?”

“I think...that you have a crush on this guy.”

“...what?!” exclaimed Victor. He suddenly heard the sound of paws rushing towards him and Makkachin leapt onto his bed, making sure he was okay. He quickly patted their head and turned his attention back to the conversation. “Chris, what?! That’s not possible!”

“Yeah, but is it _really_ though? Is it?”

“Well…”

“I mean, why else would you be so fixated on this guy you don’t even know? You even said you’re certain it’s not just because of your job. I don’t know all the details and I don’t know who this guy is, but I think you like him, Victor.”

“There is no way that I have a crush on him. I technically don’t even know him.”

“You could get to know him. That’s probably why you want to keep following him. Just ask him out or something and be done with all of this.”

Victor scoffed. “And how am I supposed to do that, Chris? ‘Oh hey. I’m Victor. You don’t know me, but I kind of already know you because I was hired by someone to investigate you, so I’ve been following you around for awhile now. Anyway, want to grab some coffee or something?’”

“Well,” said Chris, “that actually wasn’t too bad.”

“Chris, no…” groaned Victor.

“I mean, you’re gonna have to tell him that you’ve been stalking him anyway, so you might as well be blunt about it!”

Victor sighed. “I guess, but that doesn’t make it any less awkward. Besides, it’ll be even more awkward because I can’t tell him who my client was, but he’ll obviously still know that it had to be someone who knows him. It’ll also be awkward because even if this guy does understand, I’m still gonna be stuck with seeing him and my client and that’s just...weird.”

“Okay. I see your point.”

“Thank you.”

“But what if somehow it all works out? The guy understands, the client is cool with it, everyone is cool with it. What then? What would you do then?”

“I don’t...know.”

“Well, think on that while you continue to stalk this dude because I think that’ll give you the answer you’re looking for.”

“But Chris-”

“Sorry, but I gotta go. I think my cat got a hold of something that they shouldn’t have and I gotta go help Masumi catch them.”

“Chris-”

“I’m really sorry. I love you. Keep me updated. Bye!”

Chris had hung up before Victor could get another word out. With a sigh, he put his phone on his nightstand before grabbing a pillow to scream into. After releasing all of his frustrations, Victor threw the pillow aside and patted the bed. Immediately, Makkachin was snuggled up against his side with their head resting on his chest. His hands immediately started petting the dog, who then burrowed themselves further into him.

“What should I do Makkachin?”

The dog said nothing, only staring up at their owner with concern. Victor sighed and pulled Makkachin closer. Chris’s question still lingered on his mind and he knew this was going to be the start of a very long night.

* * *

 

**Day 05:**

Victor didn’t exactly expect to be sitting across the street from Yuuri’s apartment first thing in the morning, but here he was, at the earliest hours of the morning.

He blamed it on the fact that he hadn’t been able to go to sleep last night because he was up all night thinking about what Chris had said. If he knew it would all work out in the end, would he still do it? Would Victor take that chance and ask? And the answer that Victor came up with was yes, he would. He would definitely tell Yuuri exactly what was going on and he would ask him out and he would hope that things progressed nicely from there and he would hope that they would be together.

That conclusion actually didn’t take Victor much time to come to. He actually figured it out within a half hour of when Chris asked it. Instead, the rest of his night was actually spent working up the nerve to even talk to Yuuri in the first place. Yuuri had no clue who he was, but Victor knew quite a bit about him already. Not only that, when would it even be appropriate for Victor to reveal to someone that he was asking out that he had secretly been hired to watch and follow them for nearly half a week already? These were the questions that plagued the second half of Victor’s night and they would then lead him to his current situation, outside Yuuri’s apartment.

Victor soon came up with a plan. He figured it would be simple and straightforward enough. He’d approach Yuuri before he left for work, quickly explain the whole situation, hope that Yuuri was understanding about it all, and then ask him out for coffee or something. Easy. Simple. Great. No way it could go wrong. Right?

Wrong. Very wrong.

Worried that he might miss Yuuri before work, Victor ended up outside Yuuri’s apartment at three in the morning. In other words, he was there far too fucking early for anyone else to be up. It was there that he waited alone and in the dark until the lights in Yuuri’s apartment turned on at around four in the morning. To be honest, the hour wait passed by quickly since Victor was too focused on the what ifs of this situation since he knew that with his luck, anything that could go wrong, would go wrong. He was lucky though that Yuuri’s apartment was only on the second floor, making it easy for him to peek through the windows and into Yuuri’s living room from a distance.

Victor sighed and shook his head, wondering what the hell he was even doing. He had brought his camera, binoculars, and notepad with him, under the guise of this being about work and wanting to do a thorough job, but he also knew he really needed to stop lying to himself. He knew this was more about him than it was about Yuri, but he still couldn’t bring himself to fully admit it just yet.

_I really have become a stalker, haven’t I?_

Victor sighed again and began gathering his things. He was about to leave, when some movement in Yuuri’s apartment caught his eye. Looking over, Victor could see that Yuuri had opened his blinds slightly, to let some light in later. He could make out the vague shape of Yuuri moving about wildly and soon realized that Yuuri was dancing around his apartment. Victor couldn’t help, but laugh at the sight, and he couldn’t stop himself from watching either. He continued to watch as Yuuri then picked up his dog and began doing a little waltz with him before suddenly running off to another room. Victor then realized that Yuuri must have forgotten about his breakfast or something and laughed.

It wasn’t long before Victor saw Yuuri gathering his things and getting ready for work. He watched as Yuuri said goodbye to his dog and made his way out the door. Realizing that this was his chance to talk to Yuuri, Victor quickly ran across the street to try and reach him. However, rather than smoothly reach the front steps before Yuuri got there, Victor ended up being a bit too late. In other words, he ran into Yuuri instead.

“Ow!”

Victor gasped in horror at what he had just done. Yuuri didn’t end up falling, but he did drop his things and was now kneeling down to get them. Victor was mentally trying to tell himself to help out Yuuri, but his mind and body were not communicating properly at this time. Instead, all he could do was stare at Yuuri in horror and shock.

“Sorry about that,” said Yuuri as he gathered his things. He stood up and smiled at Victor. “I didn’t mean to bump into you. I should’ve been paying attention to where I was going.”

“...”

“Umm...are you okay?” asked Yuuri. “Do you need any help?”

“What?! No! Yes! I’m fine! Yes!” Victor quickly blurted out. He then noticed Yuuri had pulled back slightly because of his outburst. “I mean, yes, I’m fine. I’m totally fine,” he said more calmly this time. “Sorry for bumping into you as well. I also should’ve been paying attention.”

Yuuri nodded in understanding and smiled. His kindness was going to be the death of Victor.

“Well, that’s good to hear. I’m glad we’re both okay then.”

“Yup…”

“Well, I gotta get going, so see ya,” said Yuuri. “Sorry for running into you. I hope you have a nice day.”

Yuuri gave Victor a wave before turning away. Although he knew Yuuri couldn’t see it, Victor waved anyway before mentally scolding himself for what he did. Victor then let out a heavy sigh and decided that he had done more than enough investigating for today.

_This is going to be harder than I thought it would be..._

* * *

 

**Day 06:**

After yesterday morning’s incident, Victor needed at least a full day to recover from that sort of embarrassment and stress. He normally wouldn’t get this flustered over anything, but Yuuri seemed to be an exception to this, which made him even for frustrated. What was it about Yuuri that made Victor so...not Victor? It was this question that caused Victor to justify his reason for continuing to follow Yuuri by telling himself that he had to figure out what made Yuuri so special and unique to him.

It was also this question that led to Victor waiting outside the Ice Castle again. Victor has already observed Yuuri during work and he’s seen Yuuri before work as well, but he didn’t know what Yuuri was like after work and maybe that’s where the answers that Victor was looking for were. Yes, Victor technically knew that Yuuri got off of work at around 6 or 7, depending on what day it was, which meant he could have easily waited outside of Yuuri’s apartment at around that time as well. However, Victor was also well aware of the fact that Yuuri often stayed late after work, so rather than awkwardly wait outside of Yuuri’s apartment for too long, he decided it would better of him to wait for Yuuri to get off work and then meet him back at the apartment. Yeah. Because that’s totally not creepy.

_I’m definitely a stalker now._

Instead of being in the bushes this time, it was safer and much better for Victor’s well-being to wait in his car instead. He had shown up at around the time he believed Yuuri would be getting off work and to his luck, he didn’t have to wait long, which meant Yuuri wasn’t staying behind that day. Victor quickly rushed off, towards Yuuri apartment, and he was soon back in his place across the street, looking up at Yuuri’s windows. Yuuri showed up shortly after him and Victor prepared his notebook, continuing his ongoing investigation of Yuuri Katsuki.

Victor watched as Yuuri made his way into his apartment and was promptly greeted by his dog. He jokingly fell to the ground, pretending to play dead, but his dog wasn’t fooled and instead, began licking his face. Yuuri laughed at this before eventually getting back up again and heading towards another room.

Victor lost sight of Yuuri for a moment, until another light came on in the apartment and he realized that Yuuri had gone to his bedroom to change into some more comfortable clothing. Not wanting to be too creepy, Victor looked away momentarily, but Yuuri had also been smart enough to close the blinds as well. Soon, Yuuri left his bedroom and disappeared from Victor’s sight once again. He reappeared in the living room this time, moving to turn on the TV. He left once again, with his dog following shortly behind him.

Victor waited patiently for Yuuri to appear again and when he did, he came back to the living room, balancing a plate with a sandwich and a mug in his other hand, while also carrying a bag of chips between his teeth as well. He watched as Yuuri tried to maneuver his way between the couch and the coffee table before finally realizing that he could have just set his things down first.

However, once Yuuri leaned over to set his mug down, the plate carrying his sandwich tilted a bit too much, causing the sandwich to fall off and onto the table. Although he lived alone, Yuuri still looked around to see if anyone was out there judging him before quickly picking up his sandwich and putting it back on his plate. After setting the chips down as well, he then quickly sat down and began eating as if nothing suspicious had happened, making Victor laugh.

Victor than watched Yuuri as he watched TV and that should have been a boring task, but Victor found himself entranced by him still. He found himself laughing whenever Yuuri laughed and frowning when Yuuri did. He found himself feeling concerned when Yuuri didn’t look happy with what was going on and he found himself wanting to change the channel when Yuuri looked bored. Victor knew he shouldn’t be this affected by what Yuuri was doing and yet he was, which only made him more frustrated with himself.

Eventually, Yuuri’s yawns grew more frequent and he turned off the TV. Victor watched as he rubbed his sleepy eyes and finally pulled himself off the couch. Yuuri left the living room, turning off the lights as he did so. He then disappeared from Victor’s view for a few minutes before reappearing in his bedroom. He watched as Yuuri went over and closed the blinds, but even without seeing Yuuri, Victor stayed for a few minutes longer, watching, imagining Yuuri getting ready for bed and then finally falling asleep.

When Victor got home that night, he realized how incredibly creepy and stalker-like his actions were. He shouldn’t be doing this. He shouldn’t have done anything past what he needed to. This bullshit about investigating and work and figuring out what was so great about Yuuri, it all needed to stop. Victor knew what he had signed up for when he started doing jobs like this, but somehow, the weight of it all didn’t really sink in until now. He thought this was a job just like any other job. What did it matter as long as he got paid, but now he realized that all of this wasn’t right. Nothing he has done was right. He decided then that this job would be his last.

_I need to stop doing this._

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/animeviolinist001/40262632611/in/photostream/)

* * *

 

**Day 07:**

Yuuri had Saturdays off and Victor knew this was his chance to figure out what was really going on. All week, Yuuri had filled his time with work and ice skating, but with no work obligations, this was where Victor knew he would learn about the true Yuuri. What he did with his spare time would finally answer Victor’s question.

But he wasn’t going to do it. Not today.

After last night’s realization, Victor decided he was going to give up his job as a private investigator. It paid and when he had graduated from college, any job was better than no job, but now, he realized that the morals behind this were not what he wanted to be associated with anymore. So rather than spend the day, following Yuuri like he had originally planned, Victor was now sitting in his apartment, trying to find himself another job.

That statement was easier said than done though because it was nearing the afternoon, when Victor finally decided that he really need to take a break from all of this. He had spent all morning combing through newspapers and websites and fliers and any other possible place you could think of for a job, but it seemed like nothing was right for him. He was either overqualified or underqualified, but never just right.

Since he had essentially locked himself in his apartment all morning, Victor knew he needed to get some fresh air. He figured Makkachin could use the chance to stretch their legs as well, and the two soon found their way to a nearby park, the same one that started all of this for Victor. Once there, Makkachin immediately ran off, in search of butterflies to follow, leaving Victor to his thoughts on a park bench again. Being outside did help with his mood and seeing Makkachin run around was adorable, but Victor was still plagued by one large unanswered question.

_What the hell am I going to do?_

“Fancy running into you here again.”

Victor chuckled and felt a sense of déjà vu when he realized Chris was sitting next to him. He turned and tried to give a smile.

“Hey. Sorry about not talking to you as often again.”

“It’s alright,” shrugged Chris. “I know you don’t mean to. But if you want, you can make it up to me by telling me what’s on your mind?”

Chris winked at Victor as he said this and Victor snorted.

“Was it that obvious?”

Chris nodded.

“Well,” sighed Victor, “I’ve decided that I’m going to quit being a private investigator.”

“Huh. Well...congratulations?”

Victor chuckled. “Yes, Chris, this is a good thing.” He then looked down and bit his lip. “Yeah. This whole case made me realize that I shouldn’t be doing something like this. It’s just not right and I had to stop, so yeah.”

“Well, I’m glad you figured that out then, Victor,” said Chris. “But something tells me that there’s still more to this.”

Victor nodded. “Along with the fact that I now have to go and find myself a new job, I also realized that I was a creepy stalker and should go to hell for what I’ve done.”

“Okay. Job, we can talk about later, but expand on this creepy stalker thing.”

“You know that guy I’ve been investigating?” Chris nodded. “I realized too late that you were right. I do like him. However, I kept on lying to myself about it. I kept telling myself that I was following him for my job and then I told myself that I was following him because I was trying to figure out what made me so focused on him and by the time I realized that I actually liked him, I realized that all I had done was stalk him for nearly a week and that I was trying to justify it. I kept on trying to tell myself that it was okay, even though I knew I clearly knew it was wrong, and that’s when I realized I had to stop. I had stop this investigating bullshit because it’s not right.”

Victor bent over and put his face in his hands, unable to face his best friend. He felt Chris put his arm around him and pull him into a hug, but he didn’t feel as if he deserved it.

“First off,” spoke Chris, “self-awareness is key, so I’m glad you realized what you were doing is wrong. Second, I think you really need to tell this guy what’s going on.”

“What?” Victor looked up from his hands. “Chris, you know I can’t do that. He’s going to hate me!”

“Yeah and so what?” responded Chris. “So what if he hates you? Of course he’s probably going to hate you. You followed him around without him knowing for nearly a week. I mean, you hate you right now! But if you don’t tell him what’s going on, you’re just going to hate yourself even more. You’re just going to bury yourself beneath a bigger weight because you’re gonna feel guilty about following him and not telling him.”

“But-”

“It’s gonna suck having to confront him about it, but at least get that off your chest. It’s just going to be worse for you in the long run, if you decide to not tell him.”

Victor thought about Chris’s words before sighing.

“I guess…” muttered Victor. “But I really did like him.”

“I know,” said Chris. He pulled Victor into a tighter hug. “And it sucks that things had to go this way for you. Rationally, he’ll probably be really angry with you and will never want to see or talk to you again, but maybe you’ll get lucky. Maybe he’s as nice as you say he is and he’ll understand where you’re coming from.”

Victor and Chris both chuckled at this.

“You really think so, Chris?”

“For you, Victor, absolutely.”

The two pulled away and smiled at each other. They revealed in the silence for a moment before Chris remembered the first topic of their conversation.

“Oh yeah! In terms of a job, I think I might be able to help you with that too!” Victor looked at Chris expectantly, waiting for him to go on. “I have a friend of a friend who works for an online newspaper. They’re looking for a copy editor.”

“A copy editor? Chris, what makes you think I’m qualified for that? I don’t think being a private investigator is going to help me get a job in journalism.”

“You went to school for literature and the reason you even became an investigator is because you were good at all the research and detail stuff that I was never good at. I honestly expected you to be a journalist or something like that. So why not work your way up to that by starting as a copy editor?”

“Chris, I don’t know…”

“It’s either that or the convenience store next to my apartment is looking for a someone to work the night shift.”

“I think I’ll go with the copy editor thing then,” Victor said quickly. “Not that there’s anything wrong with working in a convenience store. I’d just rather not work a night shift.”

“And that’s exactly why I brought it up.”

* * *

 

“So what do you have for me? Is he a serial killer? Cannibal? Does he secretly torture animals?”

Victor looked at the young man in front of him. He was looking at Victor expectantly, almost wanting to hear that Yuuri was one of the things that he had listed, and it made Victor frown slightly. He knew Yuri didn’t mean to, but he needed to calm down about this whole Yuuri thing. Victor sighed before answering.

“I have nothing.”

“What?!” exclaimed Yuri. He slammed a fist on the table, but Victor didn’t react to it. “What do you mean you have nothing?! I told you to find something on him!”

“I mean what I said. I have nothing for you.” Victor pushed the folder with all of his notes and photos of Yuuri. Yuri immediately opened it, rifling through all of the papers. “I checked everything that I could. Yuuri Katsuki is clean. He doesn’t have any sort of deep dark secret like you thought he did. He’s just a really nice guy.”

Victor watched as Yuri continued to go through all of the documents. He eventually finished and shoved the folder back in Victor’s face.

“Dammit! That means I wasted this money for nothing! Stupid son of a-”

“Actually,” cut in Victor, “it wasn’t for nothing.”

“Huh?”

“When I was investigating Yuuri, I also encountered you as well. That was a given since you two work together, but I soon realized that this case you gave me wasn’t about Yuuri. It was about you.”

“About me? Why would this case be about me?”

Victor sighed and gave Yuuri a smile. “You were worried that Yuuri was trying to steal Otabek from you.”

“What are you-”

“Don’t,” cut off Victor. “Let me continue.” Yuri scowled some more, but nodded. “You and Otabek are close friends. I’m not certain if you like him romantically, but I wouldn’t be surprised either.”

Yuri’s unconscious blush was more than a good enough answer for Victor.

“When Yuuri showed up, you got worried because you thought he might be trying to steal Otabek, your best friend, from you. You thought Yuuri was just pretending to be that nice because he was after Otabek. But that’s not true and I think we both knew that already, Yuri.”

Yuri looked away, refusing to answer.

“Yuuri is actually just a really nice person. Anything you might assume to be Yuuri trying to take Otabek was just Yuuri being Yuuri.”

“But what if Otabek likes Yuuri more than me?” mumbled Yuri. He refused to look at Victor still. “It’s like you said. Yuuri’s really nice and he’s way nicer than me. Everyone else seems to like him more, so what makes you think Otabek wouldn’t leave me for Yuuri?”

“Because you and Otabek are best friends and Otabek cares for you, just as much as you care for him.”

Yuri was still frowning, but it seemed as if Victor’s words had gotten to him. Without saying anything, Yuri reached into his pocket to pull out his wallet, but Victor stopped him before he could.

“Don’t worry about paying me,” said Victor. “I’m not charging you.”

“What? Why? What do you want from me instead?” asked Yuri. He was clearly suspicious of Victor’s intentions.

“Nothing.” Victor shook his head. “I don’t want anything from you. Consider it a...thank you.”

“A thank you? For what?”

“For...helping me realize that this isn’t the right line of work for me. In fact, you’re my last case as a private investigator, so thank you once again.”

“Okay?”

Victor gave Yuri a smile before picking up the file and leaving. Yuri remained seated, watching as Victor left. The confusion was clear on his face still.

“Weirdo.”

* * *

 

Victor took a deep breath as he sat in his actual car. He was outside the Ice Castle again, but this time he wasn’t here for work, not technically. He was here to finally tell Yuuri about everything. He thought he had been anxious and nervous before, but nothing compared to actually being here now. Like Chris had said, he had to do this, but the thought of doing it was still nerve wracking and Victor wanted to throw up from how nauseous he was feeling.

Victor continued to remain lost his thoughts and doubts, but was brought back to reality when he heard the sound of a car door slamming shut. Looking up, he realized that Yuuri had finally arrived that morning and knew that he should be heading in a well. It was best to get this over quickly and before anyone else showed up. Quickly grabbing the file next to him, Victor went inside the Ice Castle for the first time.

“Oh. Good morning! Welcome to the Ice Castle! We normally don’t get visitors this early in the morning, but we’re glad to see you here,” chirped Yuuri the moment he saw Victor. Victor’s words began to fail him once again, but luckily, Yuuri was there to save him.

“Oh hey. You’re that guy that I bumped into the other day. Sorry about that again.”

“Oh,” stuttered Victor. “It’s fine. It wasn’t your fault. I really should be the one apologizing anyway.”

Yuuri nodded at this before going back to business.

“Anyway, what can I help you with today? Are you here to skate? Are you looking into taking some classes? Maybe you’re just here to watch or-”

“Actually,” interrupted Victor, “I’m here to...talk to you.”

“To me?”

“Yeah. I’m here to talk to you and to apologize again.”

“You don’t have to apologize about the other day. I mean, I told you it was fine and-”

“No, I’m here to apologize about something else.”

Victor placed the file on the counter and slid it towards Yuuri, who stared at it with confusion. He then opened the file and began going through the papers. Victor couldn’t bring himself to look as Yuuri looked through everything.

“These are…”

“I’m a private investigator,” started Victor. “ _Was_ a private investigator. I’m not anymore, but anyway, I was...recently hired by someone to follow you around for awhile and dig up any dirt and any secrets you may have.”

“Yeah. I know,” cut in Yuuri.

Victor’s mind took a moment to reboot as he processed what Yuuri just said.

“Wait a minute. What?” asked Victor. “You knew? You knew?! How?!”

“Oh.” Yuuri looked up from the document he was looking at with a small smile. He shrugged before continuing. “Yuri told me about it the other day. He said you talked to him about everything you found on me and he felt kind of bad about it because it was more about him than it was about me, so he apologized and told me all about what happened. It’s okay. I understand. You were only doing your job.”

Yuuri went back to looking at all of the notes that Victor had made of him. Victor continued to stare at Yuuri in shock, completely befuddled by his more than calm reaction.

“But there’s more!” exclaimed Victor finally. Yuuri looked up, startled. “There’s more than just the case!”

“O...kay?”

Victor took a deep breath, preparing himself for Yuuri’s reaction to the whole truth.

“The truth is that I figured out that you weren’t just pretending to be nice pretty early on in the investigation. I figured you weren’t trying to do anything mean and that you weren’t harbouring some terrifying secret after probably the third day. I could have and should have stopped following you then and there, and I should have reported everything that I had to Yuri, but I didn’t. Instead, I continued to follow you and I told myself that it was because I wanted to do a thorough job.

“But then I realized that was a lie. I had just been lying to myself the whole time. I realized that for some reason, I found myself fascinated by you and I had to find out what that reason was. I continued to follow you and that’s when I realized how creepy I was being. I realized that I was just being a creepy stalker and that I really had to stop. It wasn’t until later on that I realized that this was all because I liked you and that I didn’t know how to deal with my emotions, but that still doesn’t excuse what I did to you. I’m really sorry for what I did.”

Victor stared at Yuuri, gauging his reaction, but it seemed that it was taking Yuuri a moment to fully process all of this. He looked down at the papers in his hands and then back up at Victor and then back down again. He finally set them down and nodded.

“Oh. Okay.”

“Okay?” repeated Victor. “That’s all you have to say? Okay? I just told you that I was stalking you for nearly a week!”

“Well, yeah,” said Yuuri sheepishly, “but you apologized and told me everything, so it’s okay. I understand.”

“It’s okay?!” exclaimed Victor. “That’s it?! I’ve been beating myself up over this for so long, thinking that you were gonna hate me, and you’re...okay?!”

Yuuri scratched the back of his head. “Maybe I should explain this better,” said Yuuri. “I mean, yes, following me around without me knowing was weird, but I wouldn’t really call it stalking, I guess.”

“You guess?”

“I mean, stalking implies that you were harassing me and being aggressive about it, but I wouldn’t really say you were doing that. You came and apologized to me for it, so it’s okay. Plus, after looking through all of your notes and pictures of me, it really doesn’t seem as if you had any sort of ill intentions towards me. You were just doing your job and you may have taken it a bit further than you needed to, but it’s nothing that I’m too worried about.”

Yuuri smiled reassuringly at Victor, while Victor continued to stare back, completely befuddled and confused. He continued to stare for awhile longer and Yuuri was beginning to wonder if he should call for someone to help him.

“Umm...sir? Are you okay? Do you need some help?”

“You...are so nice.”

“Thank you?”

“Seriously. You are literally the nicest person I have ever met, so really, I should be thanking you,” said Victor. “Thank you for being so understanding. It really means a lot to me.”

“You’re welcome,” replied Yuuri. “But it’s really not that big of a deal.”

“Well, thank you again.”

Victor quickly put the papers back into the file and grabbed it off the counter before turning to leave. He was about halfway to the door when Yuuri’s voice stopped him.

“Wait!”

Victor turned to face Yuuri, who was looking away shyly. Victor wondered if he may have done something wrong.

“Um...you said that...you said that you liked me? Is it alright if I ask why?”

Victor was shocked by the sudden question and found himself lost for words again.

“I mean, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to!” added Yuuri. “I was just curious, but if you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine. It’s your business not mine.”

Victor soon found himself chuckling before going back towards the counter. There was something funny about seeing the calm Yuuri from just a few seconds ago shift to someone who was so adorably awkward.

“Well,” mused Victor, “truthfully, I think I began liking you after I found your Instagram account.”

“My Instagram?” squeaked Yuuri.

“Yeah,” chuckled Victor. “One of your friends had posted a video of you skating and I...thought you were incredible.”

Yuuri blushed at the compliment, not used to the attention. “Oh no. I’m really not that, I’m not that, I just-”

“Then, I saw you teaching the beginner class with the little kids and I started to like you a bit more. Seeing how much you cared for all of them and how much they cared for you was really sweet and endearing. I honestly felt like my heart was about to explode from how cute it was.”

“It’s really not that great. Anyone can be a teacher, really.” Yuuri looked away as he said this.

“But not everyone can be a great teacher,” said Victor. “Then, I finally got to see you skate in person and that...was the most magical and extraordinary experience of my entire life.”

“You saw me skate too?!”

Victor nodded. “It was after the advanced class. I did some skating when I was younger, but even if I hadn’t, it doesn’t take a professional to know that you were absolutely amazing. It was truly incredible seeing you out there, moving with such passion and heart. I nearly ruined my everything because all I wanted to do was run in and tell you how great you were.”

Yuuri looked away, blushing, once again.

“But what made me realize that I liked you was seeing you at home, seeing you living your everyday life.”

“But my life is so boring. What could have possibly made you like me from seeing me live my boring life?”

“Seeing the little things that make you you,” answered Victor. “Seeing how you danced with your dog in the morning before realizing that you forgot about your breakfast.”

“Oh god.”

“Seeing you pretending to play dead for you dog. Seeing you trying to balance your plate, mug, and a bag of chips. Seeing you drop your sandwich and then pick it back up again.”

“You saw that too?!”

Yuuri was bright red now, hiding his face in his hands, but Victor only laughed and nodded. It only made him like Yuuri even more.

“All of these little things added up and made me realize that I like you, made me realize that there’s something incredibly endearing and charming about you.” Victor shrugged. “That’s probably a bit of a cheesy answer and probably not exactly what you were looking for, but that’s what I’ve got.”

Yuuri was still trying to hide, but Victor could see his rosy cheeks. He eventually put his hands down to look at Victor shyly, but it was erased the moment he saw how honest and true Victor’s eyes were. The two of them stared at each for a moment and the look was like a long and shy kiss. Victor was the one that decided to break it.

“This is gonna...probably sound weird after everything that we just talked about, but do you want to go get coffee sometime?”

Yuuri was startled by the question, but nodded.

“I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.”

Victor smiled. “Great. I’m glad to hear that.”

“I have my lunch break at-”

“11?” interrupted Victor. The two of them laughed, remembering how this all was started.

“Yeah. At 11. That sound good to you?”

“Sounds perfect to me.”

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/animeviolinist001/39365192565/in/photostream/)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so very much!!
> 
> Made beautiful art: [uncoolly](http://uncoolly.tumblr.com/)  
> Tried to make sentences: [dangcommaannie](http://dangcommaannie.tumblr.com/)


End file.
